Comments for They call me Dr Bellhttps://theycallmedrbell.com
Musings about university learning and teachingTue, 05 Sep 2017 01:19:42 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.com/Comment on Corporate speak invading higher education by Valentinehttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2016/10/14/corporate-speak-invading-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-501
Tue, 05 Sep 2017 01:19:42 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=273#comment-501Hi Amani,
Hilarious as this post is, there is the sad reality behind it…that Universities are/have become another business model, which clearly they are not so good at. My work has focused on service-learning and university-community engagement, and I must admit that similar “business-speake” has crept into the not-for-profit sector too. This is not surprising though since we have all been sold on the notion that “money makes the world go round”, where the “bottom line” is the most “critical” aspect of survival. To “form minds, awaken interests, stimulate intellectually and transmit knowledge” (Professor Sergio Perosa, 2000) almost seems like a punishable offence if undertaken in the context of higher education today, where bureaucratic and administrative processes are rampant. I guess the beauty lies in understanding the reality for what it is, and still striving to live the ideals of higher education regardless. I do remain hopeful when I work with students who are keen to learn and do not just see themselves as customers/clients or some other products but as active change agents. It is inspiring to work with students who embrace the realities of their worlds and seek to find meaningful solutions to its ill-structured problems – Students who apply their passion to their pursuit of knowledge. There is hope yet!
]]>Comment on Corporate speak invading higher education by amanibellhttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2016/10/14/corporate-speak-invading-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-467
Sat, 22 Oct 2016 06:33:09 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=273#comment-467Hi Charles, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Nice to know someone read the post! Some universities in the UK have resisted the ‘students as consumers’ model, by experimenting with things like ‘students as producers / partners / co-designers’ e.g. http://studentasproducer.lincoln.ac.uk
]]>Comment on Corporate speak invading higher education by Charles Knight (@Charlesknight)https://theycallmedrbell.com/2016/10/14/corporate-speak-invading-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-466
Sat, 15 Oct 2016 09:49:50 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=273#comment-466Well Universities are large corporations (well charity corporations in the UK) and the vast majority working in them aren’t academics – so it’s unsurprising that the dominate language is that of the services and management level that goes along with it.

As for resisting it, I’m trying to think how that would work – it would need (again I’m in the UK), the universities to be made public and have some form of self-governance. Oh and you’d need to repeal various bits of consumer protection law (as students legally is another word for consumer).

]]>Comment on Working with theory – go hard or go home by meljlewishttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2015/08/11/working-with-theory-go-hard-or-go-home/comment-page-1/#comment-410
Tue, 11 Aug 2015 06:45:47 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=257#comment-410Hi Amani, Great post! I came across your blog on the weekend via a twitter feed (good connections)! As I commented after Remy’s very rich, entertaining & knowledgeable talk was that I too arose form a theory-lite discipline and field(s) – or if it was there I failed to notice or try to understand/apply – and have struggled to come to terms with the big theorists and what they may mean for my work, my research and life in general. I have chatted with others who also need to cross such perceived divides when shifting disciplines and fields, or researching in disparate areas. It has been consistently challenging wrestling with deep theoretical handles on your work, life etc, however they say knowledge is a good thing (?), just don’t take it too personally. For me it is about findings ways in, being confused with complexity and finding a small gem (hopefully) to bring into the everyday world. An ongoing process and adventure….

For a lighter touch. my recent endevours with colleagues has been to bring attention to the role of theory in relation to learning analytics (1), or to look at how theoretical framings like transdiciplinarity plays out across MOOCs, and their design (2).

Cheers, Melinda
BTW – I have some of Raewyn’s books, papers by Sue Clegg and a swathe of books by and about Bourdieu, Margaret Archer. Very happy to share and/or chat.

]]>Comment on Sydney Teaching Colloquium on Blended Learning – Day 2 by aftertracehttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2013/10/04/sydney-teaching-colloquium-on-blended-learning-day-2/comment-page-1/#comment-14
Mon, 07 Oct 2013 01:24:31 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=149#comment-14Thanks Amani, beautifully summarised.
]]>Comment on Exams, what are they good for? by amanibellhttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2013/07/02/exams-what-are-they-good-for/comment-page-1/#comment-12
Wed, 03 Jul 2013 01:41:58 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=103#comment-12Interviews are indeed stresssful but are good practice for job interviews etc.
]]>Comment on Exams, what are they good for? by Jonathan O'Donnellhttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2013/07/02/exams-what-are-they-good-for/comment-page-1/#comment-10
Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:16:49 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=103#comment-10My mate interviews all of his students as part of the assessment. It sorts out the wheat from the chaff, but is probably just as stressful for the student. When I asked him if it was a lot of work, he said that he didn’t think it was more work, just different work.
]]>Comment on Diving under the surface by Exams, what are they good for? | They call me Dr Bellhttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2013/06/21/diving-under-the-surface/comment-page-1/#comment-8
Tue, 02 Jul 2013 02:41:08 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=66#comment-8[…] we want students to take a deep approach to their learning then assessment needs to be constructively aligned with subject learning outcomes. In other words, […]
]]>Comment on Diving under the surface by amanibellhttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2013/06/21/diving-under-the-surface/comment-page-1/#comment-7
Fri, 21 Jun 2013 09:24:14 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=66#comment-7Thanks Alke. I like your ‘academic ocean’ analogy and the long short walk. It’s great to hear about creative, fresh approaches that are breathing life into a concept that’s been around for almost 40 years. (PS sorry about my sideways gravatar…still trying to fix it!)
]]>Comment on Diving under the surface by Alkehttps://theycallmedrbell.com/2013/06/21/diving-under-the-surface/comment-page-1/#comment-6
Fri, 21 Jun 2013 07:05:23 +0000http://theycallmedrbell.com/?p=66#comment-6Great and very concise summary Amani,
I agree that it is not helpful to label students as either deep or surface learners – they need to be able to be both at different stages of their research projects, andnthe levek of their engagement will also be somewhat pre-detmined by their interest in the subject.
But I do think it is useful to explain to them the difference between skimming something on the surface and ‘going deep’, especially when they start to encounter academic texts, a genre they might not be familiar with.
I use the ‘academic ocean’ as an analogy with the different sources different kind of sea creatures living at different depths, and have had some success with that. (Also doing some evaluative research on that, check http://tactileacademia.wordpress.com searching for ‘fishscale’ if you are interested in this approach).
Also I have just come across a technique Nick Monk from the University of Warwick uses with his students: The long short walk. He send students out to walk a journey that woud usually take five minutes but they have to take twenty and really notice their environment while they do it. And that is the difference between skimming a text and close reading. I really like that idea and will test it out with my students for sure.
Alke
]]>